Technology more popular among girls as a school subject

SINT MAARTEN/THE NETHERLANDS – Girls are increasingly opting for technology-based courses but the trend stops at higher education level, new CBS figures over the school year 2017/18 show.

The number of girls in the pre-college (havo) and pre-university (vwo) streams opting for the Nature and Technology profile, in which mathematics, physics and chemistry are mandatory subjects, went up from 2% and 6% to 10% and 28% respectively over the past 10 years.

Technology-based education is still predominantly the preserve of boys, however. Some 26% of boys at havo level and 43% of boys in pre-university streams opting for the science-based course.

Despite the increasing popularity of technology-based subjects among girls, the trend does not continue in higher education.

The number of women choosing traditionally male bastions such as civil engineering, industry or technology at college or university level went up from 2% to 3%.

A poll by Microsoft in 2017 among 11,500 girls in Europe showed that girls have in interest in technology-related subjects when they are 11 but that this disappears around the age of 14.

The main reason for this is the lack of inspiring female role models, the poll showed. (DutchNews)